Church-Linked Charity Can't Exclusively Employ Christians
Patrick Goodenough
International Editor

(CNSNews.com) - A Baptist Church-linked association in Australia
working with families affected by poverty, drug abuse and other
difficulties has been denied permission to employ only committed
Christians.  

A tribunal in Victoria ruled that restricting employment to
Christians would violate the state's equal opportunity laws. The
tribunal argued that it could be beneficial to the people being
helped if those providing the assistance have "a diversity of
beliefs."

But the same tribunal, in an unrelated case, recently approved an
application to allow a public swimming pool complex to offer special
men-only hours, to cater to Muslim men who don't want to share the
facility with women.



The decisions have disturbed Christians already worried about
Victoria's separate religious tolerance legislation, under which two
pastors have been found guilty of vilifying Islam and ordered to
adjust their teaching and apologize (see earlier story).

"This is yet another indication that the Christian faith is under
very real threat in Australia," Bill Muehlenberg of the Australia
Family Association said Tuesday.

"The pattern of appealing to tolerance and diversity in an attempt
to undermine the distinctives of Biblical Christianity is becoming a
real worry."

The Mornington Baptist Church, located near Australia's second-
largest city, Melbourne, set up an association to help people in the
local community struggling with difficulties -- by supplying food
parcels, helping manage debt, and providing "mentors" to establish
relationships with isolated families or individuals.

Although set up as a non-profit, the Mornington Baptist Church
Community Caring Inc. (MBCCCI) remains a Christian ministry closely
linked to the church, whose pastor is the association's president.

The MBCCCI wants its staff and volunteer counselors and coaches to
be people "who have publicly accepted Christ as lord and savior,
have been baptized as believers in obedience to Christ's commandment
and walk in daily fellowship with Jesus."

Because of the state's equal opportunity laws, the association
applied for an exemption from the Victoria Civil and Administrative
Tribunal (VCAT), a statutory body which functions like a court of
law.

VCAT deputy president Cat McKenzie dismissed the application,
however, finding that in the case of paid employees, the association
could not be exempt from the law.

"I am not convinced on the material before me that it would be
appropriate to permit discrimination among those whom it employs,"
she said in her recent explanation of ruling.

"A diversity of beliefs among those who provide the services for
which it operates may well be beneficial for those who receive those
services," McKenzie continued.

"A client of a particular background may feel more comfortable in
approaching an MBCCCI employee of the same faith background. There
will be a larger choice of employees if there is no limiting of them
to those who are Christian. This may give the association a greater
and more skilled employee pool from which to draw."

'Secularization process'

Muehlenberg derided the VCAT decision. "This is a serious violation
of religious freedom and the right of a Christian church to employ
people who share their beliefs and values," he said.

"I wonder how active VCAT will be if I apply for a job at our local
mosque, and am refused," he mused. "Will VCAT rush to my aid and
demand the Muslims hire me?"

"It seems that VCAT is part of a government-led secularization
process that is steadily eroding religious freedom in Australia,
especially Christian religious freedom," Muehlenberg said, adding
that this was being done in the name
of "tolerance," "multiculturalism" and "diversity."

In another recent VCAT decision before the same presiding officer,
McKenzie approved an application by the council of Shepparton, a
city of 60,000 two hours from Melbourne, to offer "men-only"
sessions at a council-run swimming facility.

The council had made the application because the proposal involved
possible discrimination on the grounds of gender under the equal
opportunities law.

McKenzie attributed her ruling in part to the fact there was a
significant number of Muslims in Shepparton, and that "some
religions require that their adherents cannot appear undressed in
mixed company, except in front of their immediate family."

The pool complex offers "women-only" sessions on Saturday evenings.

Although the swimming pool decision is not overly controversial in
itself, the contrast between the two issues before VCAT has raised
some eyebrows.

"These two cases are important with respect to our freedom of
religion," said Jenny Stokes, research director for a Victoria-based
Christian ethics group.

"In one case, a church charity is being told it cannot specify in
advertisements that they want to employ Christians and on the other,
a council is being allowed to operate specific pool sessions --
mainly for Muslim men so that they can exercise according to the
beliefs of their religion."

Stokes said the Morning decision had "major implications for
Christian ministries and church work."

Muehlenberg said it was time for Australian Christians to "stand up
and be counted" over what he said appeared to be a case of all
religions being preferred except for Christianity.

"While we are warned in the New Testament to expect such resistance,
that does not mean that we need to roll over and play dead."

The Mornington Baptist Church declined to comment on the VCAT
decision Tuesday. Administrator Peter Jackson did issue a brief
statement giving some background.

He said the association was set up "to help local families hit by
poverty, substance abuse, conflict, isolation, illness and
unemployment as part of the outworking of the Christian faith and
the beliefs of Mornington Baptist Church."

It had so far this year distributed 629 food parcels, matched 42
local families with volunteer coaches or mentors, and helped 17
families to break out of a debt cycle.

Toby Baxter of the MBCCCI told a state parliamentary hearing earlier
this year that the project originated from volunteers "going out and
following Jesus' teaching of loving thy neighbor. There is nothing
terribly controversial about that."